"Hugo, move the telescope a little to the right," Cali said as she peered through the Far-Viewer, "I can't get a good range on this."

Hugo nodded and jumped to the Far-Viewer's panel to toy with its many bells and whistles. As he pressed a few buttons and twisted a couple knobs, the Far-Viewer turned and stretched out in accordance with Hugo's actions; its telescope grew slimmer and slimmer as it stretched to the heavens. Both Hugo and Cali were silent with anticipation as Cali peered through the Far-Viewer's telescope, but Chihiro was a lot less tense as she jumped up out of nowhere and slammed her hands down on their shoulders!

"So, did you find the Eternal Undead Source yet?" Chihiro asked as she nudged Hugo's shoulder.

"CHIHIRO!" Hugo exclaimed as he pried her hand off of his shoulder. "Be patient! You've asked us fifteen times already!"

"Sorry, Huges." Chihiro withdrew her hands and scratched the back of her head. "It's just so exciting! We're so close to completing the Core, after all!" Chihiro pumped a fist in the air. "Now that I'm better, I've been raring to go on some missions!"

Chihiro giggled as her pumped fist fell back to her side, all while her feet tapped against the autumn earth without her even thinking about it. After all, that week she spent laid up in the infirmary was absolutely miserable, and it felt good to be back in top shape again!

"Given all that you need to catch up on, you should probably be raring to work on some homework first, young Chihiro," Master Eon reminded as he floated towards Chihiro and landed on her shoulder.

Chihiro completely froze as Master Eon's warm light tickled her shoulder. "Crap, how did I forget?" Chihiro exclaimed as she ruffled her hair.

Chihiro's feet stopped tapping as she paced back and forth and scratched her head. She was so caught up in the joy of finally getting better that she completely forgot about all the work she needed to catch up on! Between the missions she sat out and the spells and reading and other homework she set aside for recovery, she was probably so behind on her training! Not to mention her exams! Her stomach already tied itself in knots at the very notion of how far she fell behind…

"Now that you've remembered, follow me," Master Eon said as he floated away from the Far-Viewer, "we'll discuss matters within my citadel."

So, Chihiro pulled away to worksheets and magic practice, what a shame. At least, that was what she assumed would be waiting for her as Master Eon lead her over to his citadel and magically opened the door. The moment the door flung open, however, the sweet aroma of honey and fresh baking hit her nose instead! But from what? Chihiro stepped inside, turned her attention to the seating area, and gasped as she found just what brought the aroma!

"Pancakes!" Chihiro cried as her eyes sparkled with glee!

There on the table sat several stacks of delicious blueberry pancakes, all topped in honey and whipped cream and fresh blueberries and all sorts of other toppings, all completely untouched as they practically begged for someone to eat them! It looked so delicious that Chihiro could hardly think of anything else as she scrambled over to her seat with such velocity that she kicked up clouds of dust in her wake! Well, not that she noticed as she summoned magical utensils and scarfed down pancakes topped with even more blueberries and an extra helping of whipped cream by the stackful. After what was probably her third stack of blueberry pancakes, Chihiro smiled as she leaned back in her chair and licked the whipped cream off of her face.

"Man, I can't remember a time when I ate this much!"

Chihiro let out a wistful sigh and rubbed her stomach, her eyes closed in content, but they popped open again as a soft light fell over her.

"My, you certainly are feeling better, aren't you?" Master Eon remarked as he chuckled and flew out of his seat. "I had a feeling a good breakfast would lift your spirits."

"You bet!" Chihiro grinned and leaned forward. "I'm back and better than ever!"

Though Master Eon had no face, the gentle and warm way he glowed gave enough indication that he was just as pleased as she was. The two of them laughed together for moments, yet Master Eon's glow solidified into something less bright as he floated back to his chair.

"Now, young Chihiro, since you're feeling much better, it's time to discuss your training. You see, we've adjusted the schedule of your studies a bit, to compensate for the time spent in recovery," Master Eon said, his tone now matter-of-fact, "so, we've decided to start your next exam!"

Upon hearing this, Chihiro completely froze while her magical utensils slipped out of her hand and vanished before they hit the floor. Her eyes twitched while her hands turned all shaky and tingly; she was having her next exam? So soon? Chihiro forced a grin as her eyes fixed on Master Eon, but he just bobbed up and down in affirmation, like he couldn't pick up on her nerves at all.

"Now, this exam won't be held here. Rather, you will be taking it at the Fairy Kingdom!"

Wait a second, she could finally go back to the Fairy Kingdom, after all this time? Chihiro looked towards Master Eon with a pleading gaze, just to be certain he wasn't pulling her leg, and as he bobbed up and down, she whooped and hollered with glee! Finally, she could go back! After all, the last time she saw it was when it was in ruins and under Kaos's control—surely, it was a lot more beautiful now! She couldn't wait to run around and see all the sights!

"I CAN'T WAIT TO GO!" Chihiro shouted at last as she jumped off her chair and hovered back down into its spot, her worries completely forgotten. "There's gotta be so much to do and see! I bet they have those pumpkin carriages and fancy towers and stuff—" Chihiro grinned "—even better, I can see Persephone and everyone again!"

Chihiro kicked her legs against the base of her chair with utter delight, then her cheers devolved into giggles as her legs finally slowed.

"It's not a visit for fun and games, young Chihiro." Master Eon flew over to her and laid down on her armrest. "When you arrive, you will go to a local village and spend the day helping its residents with whatever tasks they give you."

"Like a mission, right?" Chihiro leaned further back in her chair and made a carefree grin. "Sounds simple enough! I mean, I've gone on a ton of missions with the 'landers—" Chihiro's eyes widened as her chair toppled down before she even realized "—WHOA WHOA WHOA!" Chihiro grunted as her chair hit the ground with a thunk, and as Master Eon flew over her, she giggled and ruffled her hair. "But still, all I have to do is help people, right?"

"It's not quite as simple as that." Master Eon levitated the chair and Chihiro with it back to full height. "To begin with, you will be acting on your own. The Skylanders, nor Hugo and I will be there to help you." Master Eon sat back in his own chair. "Thus, you will be entirely responsible for your own actions."

Chihiro jumped out of her chair and rubbed her aching head as Master Eon sat down, though her smile still didn't relent. "Still, that can't be that bad!" Chihiro replied as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "I mean, how many things have I led us to victory on? Helping a couple people will be a snap!"

Master Eon looked up at Chihiro with a soft, lavender glow. "Being a leader is more than just taking charge, however. A good leader doesn't just know when to lead, but when to follow as well."

Chihiro chirped and tilted her head. A leader who doesn't lead, but follows too? What exactly does that mean? She wanted to ask, but something in her gut told her that she was probably supposed to know already.

"Now, the ship that will take you to the Fairy Kingdom should arrive soon," Master Eon said as he floated out of his chair and back towards the door, "follow me."

Chihiro nodded, and clasped her hand as she reluctantly left her seat. Her head hung low as she trailed after Master Eon, and a couple of those knots started to tug at her stomach again, but, she lead plenty of missions and she knew how to help people! This wouldn't be so bad, right? Well, just thinking about it made her shake, so as she left the citadel, she turned her attention back to the world outside.

There, Hugo and Cali both fixed their eyes back on the Far-Viewer, their earlier tension now returned to them. Cali frowned as she pressed a button more and peered into the telescope. As she made a soft hum, she turned a large brown knob slightly to the left.

"Have you found it yet, Cali?" Hugo asked as he poked his head closer to the telescope.

"Just gotta move this a little closer," Cali said, completely ignorant of Hugo as she fiddled with the knobs a little more, "and…"

Cali zoomed in a little more, smiled and pulled herself away from the telescope. Cali smiled even wider as Hugo's anxious smile matched her own, but then, she groaned and held her head as she fumbled backwards.

"Ugh, I don't feel so good," Cali groaned as her balance grew looser with the clumsy, light footsteps to match. Before she even knew it, she stumbled backwards and tripped on a rock!

"Cali!" Hugo exclaimed as he caught Cali and laid her down on the grass, yet groaned and laid down himself. "Ugh…"

Chihiro and Master Eon both froze as they caught sight of Hugo and Cali, all half-awake and sprawled out on the leaf-covered ground. What happened to them? Wait, Chihiro didn't have time to ask that question!

"Cali! Hugo!" Chihiro exclaimed as she broke away from Master Eon and raced back to the Far-Viewer.

Cali and Hugo moaned and laid down, their faces deathly pale and more akin to that of ghosts than mabu. They seemed completely out of it as they rolled their heads around, until the sound of footsteps pulled them from their daze.

"Are you alright?" Chihiro asked as she rested Cali on her shoulder and looked them over. "What happened?"

Hugo only groaned and fell flat on his back.

"Hugo!" Chihiro called as she laid Cali down and tried to help him back up. However, when she pulled him up, he only groaned and fell unconscious!

"HUGO! SPEAK TO ME!" Chihiro exclaimed as she frantically shook Hugo awake!

"Urrrrrrrr…"

Chihiro frowned and rested Hugo back on the grass. "Well, he did speak."

"What happened here?" asked a soft, almost enigmatic voice as a familiar cloud of smoke and magic hovered beside Chihiro.

Chihiro looked up and winced as she caught sight of Hex, but Hex herself paid little mind to Chihiro. Rather, Hex instead turned her attention to the Far-Viewer's telescope.

"Oh, I see." Hex frowned as she turned a few knobs on the Far-Viewer's panel. "It seems you found the Eternal Undead Source."

As the Far-Viewer receded into its natural appearance, the lightness faded from Cali and Hugo's faces while the color returned! Soon enough, they both grunted and pulled themselves back to their feet.

"Ugh, what happened?" Cali asked as she scratched her head. "Last I recall, I saw the Eternal Undead Source, and then I felt super dizzy and gross."

"That's what happens when the living reside among the Eternal Undead Source," Hex warned as she magicked up an illusion.

With a gesture of her hands, a cloud of smoke with several people surrounding a skull emerged from her palms. The people danced and played around the skull with pure glee at first, but soon enough, shuddered and fell to their knees in a slow chain before they passed out entirely.

"Like all the Eternal Sources, the Eternal Undead Source radiates with some of its element's most powerful magic." Hex grimaced to her side as the illusions disappeared into thin air. "Unfortunately, that element happens to be Undead. Those who aren't undead can't stay around it for long, lest they themselves meet the grave as well."

"Well, that certainly throws a wrench into our plans." Cali grimaced as she scratched her cheek. "But still, we do need the Eternal Undead Source." Cali's eyes bounced between Hex and Hugo as she frowned. "Isn't there some way we could contain it or something like that? So it can't harm anybody?"

Hugo hummed as he pulled a book from his lapel and flipped through his pages. "If this is to be trusted, then we could theoretically find a vessel for its powers," Hugo replied as he closed the book and tossed it back into said lapel, "but it would need to be something strong enough to capture all that undead energy."

"Now where would we find something like that?"

Everybody fell deep into contemplation for a few moments, save for Chihiro who just peered up at the heavens that grew duller and darker. Strange, it was far too early for it to get dark!

"Huh, what's up with the sky?" Chihiro asked as she craned her head further up.

"And why's everything so dark?" Hugo asked as he shook his head and looked up. "It's not time for the sun to set yeTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"

Hugo yelped and scrambled backwards as he looked towards the sky, which was painted into a cataclysm of churning purple and black clouds that stormed as tornadoes did! This was no ordinary kind of weather for sure!

Chihiro frowned as she looked over Hugo, who looked just as bad as he did when he came in contact with the Eternal Undead Source's energy, pale face and all. "Judging by your reaction, I'd say this is a bad thing?"

"VERY BAD!" Hugo answered as he hastily clawed for his books. "When that happens, it normally means there's something very amiss with the undead!"

"Like ghosts and vampires and stuff?" Chihiro placed her hands on her hips. "What's so scary about the undead, anyways? We work with the undead all the time!"

Chihiro giggled as she looked back at Hex, but Hex didn't seem nearly as amused.

"That's what you think!" Hugo flipped through his books, then shuddered and slammed them. "For all we know, the gates to the underworld could have gotten loose and brought masses of undead energy with them, or some ghostly king could have decided to expand his kingdom to the living's ream! Oh, I can hardly bear the thought!" Hugo shuddered again and ushered Chihiro along as he bit his nails. "Anyways, I think I hear something coming from the beach, so why don't you check it out?"

Chihiro just shrugged, and shuddered as a cold hand laid itself on her shoulder.

"I can feel a strong undead presence coming from the beach as well," Hex said as she turned back around. "Chop, we should go."

The sound of metal clanking clattered behind Hex as another figure—a thin skeleton dressed in bulky blue and gold armor—made their debut. In one hand they brandished a shiny silver sword, while in the other, they held a blue and gold shield, the colors of which strikingly complimented their armor. Despite the scratches on their armor and their worn bones, they seemed as battle-ready as ever!

"Indeed, my lady," Chop Chop replied with a firm nod, "let us make haste!"

Chop Chop dropped another cold hand on Chihiro's other shoulder, and in response, she shivered and yelped.

"COLD COLD COLD!" Chihiro exclaimed as she squirmed out of their grasp and shook her head, "Anyways, yeah—" Chihiro jolted up again thanks to a mechanical scream from below, and dashed down the stairs "—better get going!"

So, all three of them raced back down to the beach, which radiated with an ominous aura that was completely unlike the calm, laid-back atmosphere it usually donned! Thin purple mist streaked across the surface, and faintly across the way, someone screamed? Now that Chihiro thought about it, wasn't that Clam-Tron's voice? Chihiro jumped off the steps and rushed through the mist, a magic sphere in hand just in case.

"Clam-Tron!" Chihiro shouted as she skidded to a stop and kicked sand everywhere. "What's wrong?"

"It's a, it's a," Clam-Tron sputtered as he pointed down to the beach, and shuddered as he jabbed his finger down below again, "SKELETON!"

Sure enough, there on the beach was none other than a skeleton! Well, a skeleton head that contently sat on the sands, at least. How did that get here?

Chihiro frowned, released her sphere and walked up to the skeleton head.

"Don't you know its rude to point?" the skeleton head scoffed as it looked up at Clam-Tron.

The skeleton head turned to Chihiro, cackled and hopped right into her arms! Chihiro yelped as the skeleton head leaped straight towards her, but thankfully, she managed to catch it right before it could conk her in the head!

"Boo!" The skeleton head shouted as it raised its eyebrows at Chihiro. "In case you aren't hip to it, that's how we skeletons say hello!"

But, Chihiro wasn't quite as quick to return the friendliness as she lowered her arms to eye-level. Weird strangers arriving on your island out of nowhere was never a good thing, especially when they brought churning clouds of death. For all she knew, this guy was here to take the island over!

"How'd you get here, anyways?" Chihiro asked as she raised an eyebrow at the skeleton. "And more importantly, just who are you?"

"Name's T-Bone!" T-Bone hopped out of Chihiro's arms and across the beach. "I came over from that big door over there!"

T-Bone came to a halt and beamed as he hopped in front of a large, metal gate of some kind that engraved with intricate carved images of ghosts, zombies, and all other sorts of undead creatures on its black and magenta metal surface! It was left open just a crack, and from that open crack seeped that thin, purple mist and ominous auras, along with maybe a cackle or a scream of terror or two. Yeah, that was probably a gate to the underworld if Chihiro ever saw one.

Chihiro frowned and placed her hands in her pockets. "Huh, never knew we had a gate to the Underworld here."

"Neither did I," Hex remarked as she and Chop Chop ran up to Chihiro's side. Hex sighed and turned her attention to T-Bone. "So, T-Bone, is it?" Hex raised an eyebrow while her frown sunk further. "Why are you here? And for that matter, where's the rest of your body?"

T-Bone hissed, chuckled and looked aside.

"Well, you see, I came here to ask the Skylanders for some help with something," T-Bone explained between a forced laugh or two, "but then some spiders stole my bones! Nasty little things, those spiders! They creep out from their dingy little webs and set their beady little eyes on you, and the next thing you know, your entire foot's gone…"

T-Bone hopped all across the beach in some sort of elaborate explanation of his story, which probably would've been more impressed if he actually had a body to gesture with. But, it wasn't particularly impressive and honestly kind of long-winded, so Chihiro just tuned it out and frowned.

"So I chased them up the crypt's stairs and followed them all the way here! But, they were all gone by the time I arrived!" T-Bone nodded and hopped up to Chihiro again. "Still, I know that my body's scattered around here, somewhere."

T-Bone leaped into Chihiro's arms out of nowhere once again, and in return, she screamed and stumbled back! As she regained her balance, Chihiro bounced his head back and forth before she finally caught him with her shaky, shaky hands.

"So, what do you say? Wanna help me find the rest of me?" T-Bone grinned and hopped away right as Chihiro opened her mouth. "Great!"

Chihiro huffed, turned her gaze around the beach and crossed her arms. "Hold on, dude," Chihiro replied as she paced back and forth. "I don't see bones or spid—"

Chihiro stopped short as her foot hit something hard and cold! She looked down, nudged the offending object out of the sands with her foot, and found that it was none other than a sleek white bone with a spider asleep on its surface!

"See, you found one already! You're good at this thing!" T-Bone remarked as he hopped over then glared at the spider. "Hey, shoo, shoo you little pest!"

The spider twitched and stirred, and the moment it awoke to T-Bone and Chihiro glaring it down, it squealed and ran for the hills!

"Welp, guess I stand corrected." Chihiro blinked as the spider ran into the distance, smiled and rubbed her hands together. "Looks like I know what to do!"

Chihiro's hands glowed with a bright cyan magic, and with a snap of her fingers, that magic leaped from her hands and wove itself into a gigantic net. That same gigantic net quickly swooped down. tunneled through the beach at such an intense speed that sand and clouds of dirt flew everywhere, and it tunneled back and flew in front of Chihiro. As the sand trickled down from its open holes, its haul was revealed—an innumerable amount of spiders and a bunch of bones that poked out like diamonds in the rough!

"That's the ticket!" Chihiro shouted as she clapped, "Now, gimme the gold!" Chihiro's eyes widened as the net shook and sent spiders crashing everywhere. "WAIT NO, NOT LIKE THA—"

Before she could even finish, a cascade of spiders poured onto Chihiro and masked her from view! While she screamed and shook the spiders off, however, T-Bone just casually hopped away and beamed as he examined the pile of his bones. He blinked a few times, and in response, the bones all jumped from the sands and stood stiff and tall like soldiers addressing their general!

"Now, this goes here and that goes there," T-Bone remarked as his bones all jumped up and started assembling themselves one-by-one until they formed a proper body, "hop on this…"

T-Bone hopped onto his now fully assembled body and spun around. "And VOILA! Good as dead!"

Chihiro grunted as she shook the last of the spiders off her person, turned over to T-Bone and beamed! After all, he was finally back to his full-bodied skeleton self, and all was right again! The mist cleared from the beach, the skies were sunny and bright once more, and that eerie feeling that sent chills down everyone's spines lifted as well! Even the screams from the open door muffled just a little.

"The sky's back to normal!" Hugo exclaimed as he dashed down the stairs and across the beach with a smile on his face. "Did you find out what the problem—"

The moment he caught sight of T-Bone, though, Hugo shrieked and completely froze! He could only watch T-Bone in utter terror as sweat dripped down his brow. It was a good thing T-Bone hadn't seen him yet—

"Uh, something wrong here, Mr. Molebutt?" T-Bone asked as he looked back at Hugo.

Spoke too soon. Hugo screamed and jumped back, yet coughed into his hand and looked back at T-Bone. His fear faded into curiosity as he hummed and narrowed his eyes.

"Please don't steal my soul or anything for asking this, but by any chance, do you have another head like that?" Hugo asked as he toyed with his jacket, all while buckets of sweat poured down his face. "I saw it, and I can't help but notice that it would make the perfect vessel for the Eternal Undead Source!"

"Let's see." T-Bone tapped his bony finger against his chin, "Another head, another head, oh, wait!" T-Bone's eyes burned with bright, lively fires. "'COURSE I DON'T HAVE ANOTHER HEAD! WHAT KINDA QUESTION IS THAT?"

"I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND!" Hugo wailed as he crumpled to the floor. "PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!"

"Hugo, please," Hex sighed as she shook Hugo's shoulder, "you're making a fool of yourself."

Just then, T-Bone froze as the fires in his eyes turned to lights instead! "I do know, however, where you can find one!" T-Bone said as he turned to Hugo, though his eyes fixed on Hex and Chop Chop instead. "And as it just happens, I needed the Skylanders' help with something at that place!"

"You do?" Chop Chop intervened as he thrust his sword into the sand. "What exactly are we talking about here?"

T-Bone chuckled as he rolled his head around and cracked his shoulders.

"See, my old boss sent me a skelegram out of nowhere, telling me he wants to meet up at his place about something!" T-Bone slunk his shoulder and sighed. "Thing is, nobody's been there in ages, and I'm pretty sure the whole place is probably crawling with nasties like grave robbers and goons and—" T-Bone shuddered while his teeth chattered in accordance "—ugh, spiders…" T-Bone shook away his anxiety, popped off his arm and handed it to Hugo. "So whaddya say? One good arm for another?"

"That, that would be great!" Hugo hissed through clenched teeth as he warily pushed away T-Bone's arm, and nudged Hex and Chop Chop towards T-Bone. "Now, could you lead our Skylanders here to it?"

"Well, sure, but that depends on you." T-Bone reattached his arm and turned towards Hex and Chop Chop. "Think you can handle going down to the underworld?" T-Bone froze and laughed. "Oh, wait, you're both undead! Nevermind, you should be fine!"

T-Bone pushed past them, walked up to the gate, and pushed that gate open to unveil a deep, dark staircase into the unknown. Chop Chop and Hex dutifully followed T-Bone down the stairs, and Chihiro tried to as well—but before she could, Hugo pulled her back by the collar of her shirt!

"Not today, Chihiro! You still have a test to do!" Hugo reminded as he let go of Chihiro's shirt.

"Oh, right!" Chihiro giggled as she turned to Hugo. "So, when we're leaving, anyways?"

"Right now, actually! The ship should be here any moment." Hugo looked to the sky and smiled as a large shadow crept across the beach, "There it is!"

Hugo and Chihiro ran as fast as they could in some quiet race to beat the ship, but in the end, the ship already docked by the time the two of them dashed across the beach and raced up the stairs. In fact, when they hit the final step, the first thing they saw was Master Eon conversing with the ship's fairy pilot!

"There you are, young Chihiro!" Master Eon remarked as he turned around and floated towards Chihiro and Hugo. "Are you ready to pay the Fairy Kingdom another visit?"

"You bet I am!" Chihiro exclaimed as she bounced up and down.

Master Eon chuckled, nudged her towards the docked boat, and glowed as she skipped up its plank. "Best wishes, then! And don't forget what we talked about!"

Chihiro jumped on the boat's deck, and as the boat started up, she turned around and waved back at Master Eon and Hugo. "I won't! See you tonight!" Chihiro shouted as the ship flew off into the stratosphere.

§

"So, where is this Skull Mask anyways?" Hex asked and she and Chop Chop prodded down the cobweb-covered stairs.

"Well," T-Bone replied as he tapped a finger against his skeletal head, "if I recall correctly, it should be near the back of this very crypt! This skull mask, it used to belong to some ghoul I worked for named Mortalannis—"

"MORTALANNIS?" Hex and Chop Chop exclaimed in unison as they completely froze.

"Uhhh…" T-Bone rotated his head and frowned, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Far from it!" Hex shook her head in tandem with her words. "Mortalannis was one of the greatest philosopher kings of his time!"

"Wait, he was?" T-Bone turned his head back to face them and shrugged. "I never noticed. He always seemed so busy locking himself up in his throne room and reading while I reorganized his scrolls for the fiftieth time."

"He was the one who revitalized the Underworld, renewed the undead arts, and ended the war between the living and dead, and yet, and yet, in spite of all his achievements, he always stayed humble," Chop Chop explained as he gestured with his sword.

"He never even had his appearance recorded in history tomes because he didn't want his image to become his obsession! He was one of the best philosopher kings that Underworld ever knew," Hex said as blinked just a bit and levitated around T-Bone, "and you worked with him?"

"Well, yeah? Didn't I tell you that?" T-Bone shook his head. "But whatever. Back to looking for that mask!"

So, T-Bone lead them around the corner and looked at his palm. "Now, if I recall correctly, we need to take a left, and a right, oh wait, maybe it was actually a down instead of a right…"

Hex obediently followed T-Bone nonetheless, but the way she and Chop Chop looked at each other showed that they both held doubts about their guide's actual guiding abilities. T-Bone led them down rank corridors and spiderweb-coated strips, but none brought them any closer then before. In fact, Hex was at least half-certain that she passed that particular spiderweb formation at least twice now!

"Are you sure you actually know the way?" Hex asked as she floated up to T-Bone's side.

"Oh, I'm sure it was right down this way," T-Bone said as he stroked his bony chin, popped off his head and flipped it above them before it landed perfectly back onto his body, "but then again, what do I know? I'm just a skeleton!"

T-Bone made a few chuckles. His laughter slowly died as it became quite apparent that neither Chop Chop or Hex found it quite humorous, and he hung his head… Right as a spider crawled over his foot and caused him to scream!

"SPIDER! GET AWAY FROM ME!" T-Bone yelled as he ran in the other direction, far, far away from Chop Chop and Hex. "MY BONES AREN'T FOR YOU!"

As T-Bone's screams faded in the distance, Chop Chop and Hex both sighed. So much for their guide.

"It looks as if we'll have to find this mask by our own power," Hex remarked as she crossed her arms.

"Indeed," Chop Chop sighed as he tapped his sword against the stone floors, though he seemed hardly disheartened as he pointed that sword down the halls. "Let us make haste, my lady!"

Hex nodded as she clasped Chop Chop's hand; it was smooth and metallic thanks to his armor, yet comforting from the similar chill it held to her own. She nodded as they both made headway down the halls. Something like this was nothing new to Hex, for her days as a Skylander took her down many abandoned crypts, some less pleasant than others. Hopefully, this would be one of the more pleasant ones.

Hex floated a bit further as faint candlelight poured down from the candleholders stationed on the walls, but everything went completely dark! A sudden wind blew the candles clean out, yet how? They were in a crypt, and though these walls were old, they seemed sturdy enough to not let in any drafts! Unless… Hex summoned a glowing skull for a lantern, and warily held it close as she eyed a teal wisp that manifested down the hall. Its flame was small and faint, but as it floated closer, it grew larger, and larger, until finally it erupted into a massive wildfire!

"WHO DARES TO TRESPASS ON MY FINAL RESTING PLACE?" demanded a large, skinny ghost as it crawled out of the fire and manifested before Hex!

Final resting place? Oh dear, this must be Mortalannis; it seemed T-Bone forgot to tell him that extra company was coming. Looks like Hex would have to do the damage control.

"My apologies for trespassing, your highness," Hex said as she made a curt bow, "I came here at the bequest of your servant, looking to ask for use of your skull mask…"

As Hex spoke, Mortalannis's eyes sparkled despite the lack of light within the crypt. He seemed, strangely eager as he made a series of nods and a wide grin.

"Is that so?" Mortalannis raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "Well, if that's the case I'd be more than willing to lend it to you—" Mortalannis raised a hand "—if, and ONLY if, you can pass my secret tests. You know, to prove you're worthy of it and all."

"Very well then." Hex released her bow and looked up at Mortalannis. "That sounds like a fair enough exchange."

"Just one question," Chop Chop asked as he stepped up to Hex from the shadows and gripped his sword tight, "what exactly are these tests?"

"Just follow me," Mortalannis replied as he floated off into the dark, dark hallways before them, "I shall explain as we pass on."

Chop Chop and Hex both looked at each other as Hex raised an eyebrow, and though Chop Chop's face was masked, the way he gripped his sword tight showed that he was a bit wary.

"You see, I am an old and weary ghost, and all those who lived in this crypt with me have since passed on to the afterlife which awaits us all." Mortalannis lowered his head as his lip started to quiver. "I believe it is time for me to do the same. But, I cannot rest until I clean this place up and donate the treasures it holds to the unliving populace."

"A noble cause indeed, your majesty," Chop Chop said as he bowed his head.

"But, as I am old and decrepit, I cannot clean this place entirely by my own power. Thus, if you can do the jobs and tasks I assign you, I suppose you'd be worthy of my mask."

"And what would this job entail, exactly?" Hex floated up to Mortalannis and clasped her hands.

"I'll tell you when we get there!" Mortalannis growled as he shook his head at Hex. "They wouldn't be secret tests if I told you, what kind of logic is that?"

As Mortalannis scoffed and flew back down the halls, Hex made a wary wince towards Chop Chop. Something about this felt fishy, and they both seemed to know it.

But, nonetheless, the two of them followed the ghostly, faint light Mortalannis gave off around the corner, and moved towards an open crypt littered and blocked off with large, cinder blocks covered in cobwebs. The whole place was covered in a fine layer of dust that gently scattered about as Hex floated above, and the occasional spider skittered to and fro the crack within the broken cobblestone walls. It all had some sort of somber atmosphere, something so cold and quiet and only lit by dying candlelight… And Mortalannis, who peered through several vases as he mumbled to himself.

"Your Highness?" Hex called as she turned her head towards Mortalannis, though he seemed perfectly oblivious to her. "Your Highness?" Hex floated over to Mortalannis and brushed a hand against his ghostly form. "Your Highness, what exactly are you doing?"

"OH, YOU'RE HERE!" Mortalannis exclaimed as he yanked a face covered in cobwebs out of a vase. "I was just, er, I just wanted to admire the craftsmanship of these vases!" Mortalannis looked aside and lowered his voice. "Not the most expensive things, but I guess they'll make some decent money…"

"Expensive?" Chop Chop repeated as he joined Hex and Mortalannis. "Why should it matter if they're expensive or not? You said you were donating all their contents, correct?"

Mortalannis hastily shook the cobwebs from his head and maintained a stern face as he imposed himself over Chop Chop. "You heard nothing, that was just the breeze!" Mortalannis cleared his throat, and turned back to the blocks that blocked off the upper half of the room. "This room will be the site of your first trial!"

Hex and Chop Chop readied their arms as they glazed over the room, fully prepared to attack, but lowered their weapons as Mortalannis began to laugh.

"No, no, it's not that kind of trial!" Mortalannis corrected as he floated over to the blocks. "All you have to do is push these blocks out of the way!"

"Push these blocks away?" Hex mused.

She floated over to one block and ran her hand down its cold surface; it seemed solid, but not solid enough to resist a levitation spell or a good push. However, one could never know with these kinds of trials, for there was always some kind of hidden trick up the sleeve. Hex carefully levitated out of any exploding range, and with a flick of her wrist, she levitated the blocks out of the entrance's way—but oddly enough, nothing happened! No sudden explosions or unleashing of monsters, not even a plastic spider from the ceiling!

No, she just opened the way to a nearby hallway. Something about this felt wrong; shouldn't a trial have more to it than just pushing some blocks? Shouldn't a crypt with this level of importance have some kind of safety procedures installed? Hex peered down the halls just to be safe, but she saw no obstructions other than more cinder blocks.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mortalannis asked as he appeared behind Hex. "Get pushing!"

With their safety guaranteed, Chop Chop appeared from behind Mortalannis and proceeded down the halls, with only slight moments of pause taken to crash into blocks with his shield and push them out of the way.

"You know," Hex said as she floated up and lifted another block out of their path with magic. "It's much easier to do this with magic. You should just leave this to me."

"That may be true," Chop Chop remarked just moments before he crashed into another block and sent it sliding, "but it would be dishonorable of me to not pull my own weight during missions. I shan't force you to do all the work."

That was just like Chop Chop, always so caught up in his knightly honor. Not that Hex minded, for it was not in a bad way. He acted just as a knight, as a Skylander should, all noble and gentlemanly and valiant. It was charming, in an odd sort of way.

Hex nodded, but nonetheless pushed the last few blocks out of the way and trailed into the next room. The moment her feet hit the ground, by a thin, almost eerie-looking mist and the distinct reek of stale chemicals greeted her, almost like she was in… A laboratory? With a snap of her fingers, the mist cleared, and unveiled that she indeed found herself in a laboratory, and a very unkempt one at that. It brought to mind Pop Fizz's old lab on the rare occasion she stumbled in.

Tables were cobweb-coated and overturned while broken glass and half-full beakers pooled out stale, probably toxic liquids in all sorts of colors over the stone floors. Over on the walls hung rotted papers with faded ink that just barely displayed all sorts of potion recipes and theorem alongside even more cobwebs, and beside them, tired, old bookshelves held ancient chemistry books that were practically calcified and certainly at least a century behind the times. Well, this did seem like the kind of place a philosopher king would have in his tomb.

"Her is your second trial!" Mortalannis exclaimed as he looked down at Chop Chop and Hex. "Clean out this laboratory and bring anything of value to me!" Mortalannis flew behind Chop Chop and pushed him forward. "Now get working!"

Chop Chop sighed, but nonetheless joined Hex while she brushed her hand against a nearby table and flipped it upright. He himself went to work quickly, with his sword and shield used as a makeshift broom and dustpan to sweep the broken glass and stray papers off the ground; neverminding that it didn't have half the efficiency of the actual tool.

But, at least that was one thing off of Hex's mind, so with a clasp and release of her hand, she summoned a magical, cyan towel and sent it away to scrub the pooling liquids of something or other off the floor. While the towel did its work, Hex flipped the few other tables upright and claimed a couple scrolls off of its surface, a few stray jewels off the next. By the time the floors were sparkling clean, Hex amassed anything visible on the tables she flipped and gathered it on one particular table, while Chop Chop brushed dust off of his shield as he joined her.

"Very impressive," Mortalannis remarked as he flew towards Hex and Chop Chop, though his eyes fixed on the table as he sifted through the treasure pile. He frowned as he levitated a couple scrolls and tossed them away one by one. "Nope. No. Nada. Zilt. Wrong."

Hex raised an eyebrow as the scrolls fell to the floor. Mortalannis was famed for his value of knowledge and written works, and yet, he tossed those scrolls aside like candy wrappers! What was going on here?

"Ooh, I could make a pretty gold coin or two off of these~" Mortalannis crooned as he lifted up the jewels, hid then behind his back and snarled the moment he realized Hex watched him. "Now, don't just meander around! You still have many more trials ahead of you!"

Mortalannis made his way out of the laboratory, but Hex and Chop Chop lingered within instead. Once he was safely out of range, the two of them turned to each other and nodded as if they wanted to say something...

"You two!" shouted Mortalannis from what seemed like much further down the hallway. "Hurry up, I don't have all the time in the world to guide you around!"

And that nod turned into tired sighs and wary grimaces as they went back to tailing Mortalannis.

"Say, speaking of guides," Hex remarked as she floated towards the source of Mortalannis's voice, "what do you believe happened to him?"

"Probably got lost trying to find his way through the catacombs," Chop Chop replied with a shake of his head. "He didn't seem like the most reliable sort."

Hex nodded, but as Chop Chop went ahead, she manifested a small, glowing cyan skull and gently patted its head. As her skull looked back up at her, Hex leaned down and whispered close to its earhole, and with a nod, it zoomed off into the crypt's dark corridors.

"Hopefully that should work," Hex whispered as she turned around and floated after Chop Chop.